Journal article
Substantiating a crisis: Understanding farmer mental health in Iowa
Anthropological notebooks, Vol.29(2), pp.14-38
01/01/2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10405749
Abstract
In 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report indicat-ing that rates of suicides for farmers were 84.5 per 100,000, four times higher than the general population and higher than other high-risk groups, such as military veterans. Five months later, it was retracted due to a classification error. However, the report had already made national and global news, sparking a sense of urgency among pol-icy makers, the media, and farm groups. Despite evidence that occupational stress in agriculture stems from structural sources, such as volatile economic conditions resulting from trade instability and unstable commodity prices, solutions to the problem of suicide among farmers tend to emphasize individualized actions, such as seeking counseling and mental health support. This paper examines recent media and policy initiatives as well as interactions among farm support agencies. We argue that despite evidence of structural challenges, the solutions proposed typically require individual-ized action by farmers. This response is consistent with agrarian ideologies that por-tray farmers as uniquely independent actors and absolves policy makers, lenders, and agribusinesses of culpability in promoting an agricultural industry that is re-sponsible for high levels of occupational stress among its most critical participants.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Substantiating a crisis: Understanding farmer mental health in Iowa
- Creators
- Brandi Janssen - Univ Iowa, Coll Publ Hlth, Dept Occupat & Environm Hlth, 145 N Riverside Dr, Iowa City, IA 52242 USAMadeline A. McCabe - Univ Iowa, Coll Publ Hlth, Dept Occupat & Environm Hlth, 145 N Riverside Dr, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Anthropological notebooks, Vol.29(2), pp.14-38
- DOI
- 10.5281/zenodo.10405749
- ISSN
- 1408-032X
- Publisher
- Slovene Anthropological Soc
- Number of pages
- 25
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2023
- Academic Unit
- Public Health Administration; Occupational and Environmental Health; Injury Prevention Research Center
- Record Identifier
- 9984548852002771
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